Guardians: The Last Elder

Chapter 13: The Dwarf City

 "This dwarf still observes the world from his own self-imposed height."

~ Dejan Stojanovic (The Sun Watches the Sun)

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"It's time," Vanessa whispered beside me. "Are you ready?"

I shook my head, staring at the intimidating set of doors in front of me. Kace and Josh were standing in front of us, waiting patiently for the doors to open. We were standing at the foot of a small hill. But it was made of more dirt and rock than trees, unlike the other hills surrounding it. Sparse trees with dried leaves and gnarled branches dotted the hill. A set of circular double doors wrought out of iron stood at the base of the hill, serving as the entrance to the city of the dwarves. Up above, the sky was a deep shade of indigo, almost black. Starts twinkled brightly and the moon was almost full, a side of it ever so subtly cut off.

I breathed and counted slowly, willing the gates to open. One, two...six, seven...nine, ten...

A sudden loud groan punctured the quiet of the night. With long wailing creaks the doors slowly swung open. A long tunnel stretched behind the doors, extending for who-knows-how-long, veiled in darkness. A lone child stood at the entrance, barely visible in the darkness. Abruptly, a fire started in a brazier, a bright light piercing the darkness. It was then I realised that the figure in the entrance wasn't a child but a dwarf. He was extremely short and sturdy, clothed in trousers, boots and a dirty waistcoat above a shirt that might have been white at one point. A long mustache grew from beneath his chin all the way to his waist with its end tied in a small braid. He had thick bushy eyebrows and a mop of dark hair and currently, he was frowning.

"Who dareth stand in front of the mighty and ancient Iron Gates of the Dwarf city?" rumbled the dwarf in a deep voice.

"Did he just say 'dareth'?" whispered Vanessa in my ear.

Josh on the other hand, didn't look surprised. "We request to traverse through the ancient passage to the Dwarf City, O Ye Watchman. Grant us access and we shall be grateful." Josh looked like he was reciting lines from some book. Hmm, now that I think about it, he probably was.

The dwarf asked, "What business do you have inside, Guardian?"

"Oh none you need to worry about! We just wish to make merry and drink the famous Beer that many have acclaimed to be the best in this world and all the countless others. And maybe bring home some artifacts prepared by the skilled and experienced hands of the dwarves."

Goddamn, he was laying it on thick. But the dwarf looked pleased enough.

"To be granted access, you must hand over three gold coins for each one of you. And you must return here before dawn breaks for these doors would close and would not open until the next night settles."

"We will be here," Josh assured and handed over twelve gold coins from a pouch that Vanessa carried. The dwarf grunted and said, "Come then, young Guardians, follow me."

The four of us stepped inside the dark tunnel, with only the dwarf's brazier as our guiding light. The torch light created our ghostly elongated shadows on the walls of the passage. We walked for a short time before we came to a crossroad. The dwarf continued on the left path. We kept on walking deeper inside the hill, gradually moving downwards. We came across more and more divisions on the passage to the point where I knew I wouldn't be able to find my way back even if my life depended on it. Abruptly we came to a halt. I almost crashed onto Kace's back who was walking ahead of me with Josh.

"What is it?" I asked and immediately cringed as my voice echoed and bounced across the narrow walls.

The dwarf stood in front of a boulder that blocked our passage. I had half a mind to flail my arms dramatically and shout, "Abracadabra!" But he instead tapped the rock with three fast taps, two slow ones and two fast ones. Abruptly, the boulder groaned and shifted, rolling away and opening our path.